Mickey Rourke Paints ‘Mona Lisa’ With Bullets

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on May 15, 2009

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Variety is reporting this evening that Mickey Rourke, that resurgent star who was nominated for an Oscar for The Wrestler and has landed himself in the sure-hit Iron Man 2, has also signed on to a new project entitled Mona Lisa.

The film will star Rourke as an ex-con who takes a job as a chauffer for a high-class escort. It is a remake of a 1986 Neil Jordan directed film starring Bob Hoskins and Cathy Tyson. Casino Royale dame Eva Green is reportedly in talks to star opposite Rourke.

Larry Clark (Kids) has been tapped to write and direct the remake, which will begin shooting in July.

My thoughts: Mickey Rourke as an ex-con gangsta? No way.

Your thoughts go below.

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Rick Gershman

What a weird, weird film that will be. The original was a pretty good flick with a great performance by Bob Hoskins. Rourke seems a strange fit for the role (though I'm sure everything except the basic concept is being tossed. But Larry Clark, writing and directing? That's what makes it interesting. Seems a fair bet this will be 10 times as gritty and nasty as Jordan's original. I'd expect this will either be a pretty killer flick or a massive train wreck--no in-between.

(And I'm sorry, but as great as Rourke was in The Wrestler, not to mention Sin City, I have my doubts about him sustaining this comeback too much longer. Though I'd love to be proven wrong.)

bb6640

Very strange combination. Larry Clarke remaking Neil Jordan? WTF? I'm sorry, Clarke isn't a good director.He has yet to make a coherent film. He's like Gus Van Zant without the genius talent. I think he's great at shocking and/or pandering to his audience and critics but that's about it.

_Christopher_M

I enjoyed most of Lary Clarke's films...although Ken Park went a little too far in the WTF department...then he started experimenting with porn after that..the concept/cast sounds great but Clarke is still too odd for such a mainstream project...I can't see any studio actually wanting to hire Clarke

jack2jack

I would like to see Rourke pull this off. I think given the chance and the right director he could expand his roles. I'm a sucka for come back stories. I think Rourke has just begun to show us what he can do.

_Christopher_M

Mickey might be angling for nominations again...Bob Hoskins won best actor at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival and also a Oscar nomination for the original movie....